Lawyer of arrested officers detained for Gülen movement propaganda


Date posted: March 6, 2018

Lawyer Kemal Uçar, known for his critical statements concerning July 15, 2016 coup attempt cases, has been detained as part of an investigation into the faith-based Gülen movement, Milliyet reported on Saturday.

According to the report Uçar, who represents some of the military officers arrested following the failed coup, was accused of disseminating the propaganda of the Gülen movement on social media. Uçar’s links to movement are being investigated.

“A prosecutor told me: ‘Kemal, you question military issues too much. You will be blacklisted as a lawyer for Fetö [a derogatory term for the Gülen movement].’ I said that ‘I am not [their lawyer]. Why would they arrest me?’ He said, ‘I’m not saying you’re a member of Fetö, but you shouldn’t be surprised if they arrest you.’ I said: ‘How can they do that?’ He took out his cell phone and said: ‘They can say that you use ByLock [a mobile phone application]. But I said that I don’t use ByLock. He said: ‘It’s not important. You will stay in prison six months, one year, and you will learn your lesson until you prove it’,” Uçar said on a recent TV program.

Uçar used to share messages on social media that the ByLock mobile phone app can not be used as evidence to arrest people.

Turkish authorities believe ByLock is a communication tool among followers of the Gülen movement, which is accused by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government of orchestrating a failed coup in 2016, a claim the movement denies.

Uçar said on the TV program that 52 of 58 casings found in Taksim on the night of the coup were not fired by soldiers according to an official report.

On another television show Uçar said his client, the commander of the air force academy who was detained and taken to Ankara by the coup plotters, was a victim of the coup attempt in a court case in Ankara, while facing 92 life sentences in another coup case in İstanbul.

“In the file he was accused of sending air force cadets to Ankara as part of coup attempt preparations. But in reality, the order was given by not my client but by air force commander Abidin Ünal.”


Lawyer Kemal Uçar, known for his critical statements concerning July 15, 2016 coup attempt cases, has been detained as part of an investigation into the Gülen movement, Milliyet daily reported. Uçar used to share messages on social media that the ByLock mobile phone app cannot be used as evidence to arrest people. Uçar said on a TV program that 52 of 58 casings found in Taksim on the night of the coup were not fired by soldiers according to an official report.


Uçar also said one of his clients, an air force pilot, was accused in a fake voice recording of bombing the Turkish Parliament despite the fact that he was not flying a jet at the time of the recording.

Five hundred seventy-two lawyers in Turkey have been arrested, 80 of whom have been convicted and sentenced to between four and 14 years in prison since July 2016, a recent report said.

The Arrested Lawyers Initiative released its 24-page report titled “The Rights to Defense and Fair Trial Under Turkey’s Emergency Rule” on Feb 1.

“As of today, 1,506 lawyers have been prosecuted and 572 lawyers have been arrested, 80 of whom have been sentenced to lengthy imprisonment. Some of the arrested lawyers have been subjected to torture and inhumane treatment,” the report said.

Turkey has fallen to 101st place out of 113 countries in the World Justice Project’s 2017-18 Rule of Law Index, a comprehensive measure of adherence to the rule of law.

The head of the German Bar Association (DAV), Ulrich Schellenberg, in September said the rule of law no longer exists in Turkey, warning German lawyers about the possibility of being arrested in the country.

“There is no rule of law in Turkey anymore. There is no presumption of innocence. There is no effective defense. There is no independent judiciary,” Schellenberg told dpa, underlining that lawyers have been detained due to their clients and that people are having difficulties finding attorneys.

Source: Turkish Minute , March 4, 2018


Related News

Cingöz: Kimse Yok Mu welcomes all auditors from state institutions

İsmail Cingöz, president of the Turkish charity Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There), which is affiliated with the Hizmet movement inspired by prominent scholar Fethullah Gülen, explained to Today’s Zaman that the organization has contributed to social and international peace since the day of its foundation.

Gulen factor in Turkey’s turmoil

Gulen Movement is a unique case of global social innovation based on the sanctity of education and inter-faith dialogue in a number of respects.

Toward a constitutional crisis [in Turkey]

If the government continues to give the impression that it is trying to stop the biggest-ever corruption investigation in the country, Gezi may repeat itself. It is clear that this may harm not only the AK Party, but also the Hizmet movement and Turkey. Only the AK Party can stop this from taking place by convincing people that it is not interfering with the judiciary and that it is fully against corruption.

Erdoğan’s harsh, xenophobic rhetoric damages fight against Islamophobia

The increasingly punitive and xenophobic discourse adopted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in recent years has done a huge disservice to the fight against Islamophobia, dealing a blow to the decades-long efforts of organizations such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Hizmet movement in international forums.

Fethullah Gülen: ‘I don’t have any regrets’

You insist your movement is peaceful, not political. But multiple sources tell me that Hizmet has a dark side — where individuals are carefully groomed to enter government and related professions with the intent of an ultimate takeover. Is this true? If not, is it possible that these sorts of activities are happening without your knowledge?

Iranian gold stars in Turkish corruption scandal

It is difficult to predict how the bribery/corruption investigation into several Turkish ministers will end. Although there are those who frame the event as a power struggle between the Fethullah Gulen movement and the government, conspiracy theories expand its dimensions to include the United States and Iran. The government is looking for US and Israeli hands in the operation because of the use of Halkbank to circumvent the sanctions imposed on Iran.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Turkish authorities unlawfully arrest pregnant woman on alleged Gülen links

Australian Relief Organization completes orphanage refurbishment project in Malawi

Turkic American Alliance Condemns Government Takeover of Zaman

Liberian Turkish Light International School Organizes Math Competition

Turkish-Australian businessmen blocked from G-20 summit

Colors of world meeting at Turkish Language Olympics

Gov’t profiling of individuals found unacceptable, unlawful

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News